Democracy Dies in Darkness

The Charlie Kirk shooting suspect went from a quiet upbringing to a murder charge

The 22-year-old charged with killing the conservative activist could face the death penalty, if convicted.

9 min
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) speaks at a news conference Friday about the arrest in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

Tyler Robinson grew up on a quiet street in a quiet corner of Utah.

He played video games, and some neighbors said his family had previously attended services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Entering his senior year of high school, his mother posted a photo of him on social media along with his strong college-admission test scores and wrote, “This boy is a genius, and I’m hoping he’ll pick a Utah college and stay close.”

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